how far was it

GoldenMotor.com

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
Okay my bike trailer threw a wheel and I had to leave it and bring the bike home manually. Even pulling the engine off the wheel I had to walk the bike a lot of the way.. The reason is it's a motor bike so the gearing on the pedals is meant to assist the motor up hills not pull them alone. It is set for the highest possible gearing. I couldn't get the darn thing up some of the hills so I had to push it.

So let me phrase this so it applies to everyone here. How far is the furtherest you have to get bike home under your own power. Not momma and her car picking you up, but how far did you have to either pedal or combo push and pedal the beast. I got in about 1.5 and 2 miles I think.
 

matt167

New Member
May 20, 2009
420
0
0
usa
2 miles.... up a steep hill.. engine didn't have the torque to pull the hill, but I had a brain fart and was 'assisting' the bike up the hill with the engine, until the chain came off and wrapped up in the axle and bent.. so after I put it back togther, the chain wouldn't stay on so I just disconnected the chain and pushed it
 

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
Get yourselves some lighter cogs with more teeth- they're available-

and thinner tires and wheels help the peddling-

I'm thinking if I'm ever REALLY far out- I could pop the master link and take all the motor resistence off.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
In my case it's an ebike and I only pedal to assist the engine so it's a one speed. I have it set for the highest possible combination so that I can start pedaling sooner to keep the speed up. The lower I gear it down the slower the bike has to be going for the pedals to take hold. I never expect to pedal only it just happens now and then.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
about 5 blocks when my stock kit chain exploded. not far at all. i walk to a bar that's farther than that.

AMATEUR ROFL just kidding. It's like that doctor told me about motorcycles, if you ride it long enough, it will kill you. If you ride these things often enough, you got a longer walk coming.
 

pre-war Schwinn

New Member
Nov 15, 2009
109
0
0
73
Los Angeles 90039
The steep hill I live on had made it impossible to ride a bike up,that's why I thought of a motorized
bike. I travel all around town.. I shop, pick up chicks, and show off,,but that's on a full charge of four12 v 12 amp SLA's that add 32 lbs to my 80 lb chopper. I buy a ton of food and two packs of cigarettes to tide me over a couple days and now weigh in at 325lbs
I put a 12 tooth freewheel in place of the 16 tooth it should have, and,** Wagon's Ho!** up the hill we go. if I sit and pedal I swiftly make the impossible possible but that's because I had so many Walks with the stock hub motor that melted into a science project
I have enclosed the photo of my hill to gauge for you the amount of progress I have attained.. My home sits along the dirt track up center right. It was bulldozed till they came to my street and stopped. I and my dad named the dirt street there "Electric" street in 1963.. as our major subdivision was planned by the city guys. telling us to pay for all the services, cover the cost of construction under ground and install a retaining wall and a block of asphalt. We went bust so
I never got to go to school ...so I hopethat it was worth all that.
 
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Vistaman73

Chat Box Junkie
Nov 29, 2009
247
0
0
28
Shawnee, Kansas
Me too, It was like the third day of my bikes life and I was puttin along up and down the road back/forth back/forth until it died and after several choiced words I gave up and peddled the beast up hill about a mile. I could see gas in there but I never put a whole tank in it in the first place. I got back still bewildered by its death and thought, " When all else fails, more gas." Hehe I thought. Worth a try. I filled her up peddled down the driveway popped the clutch and off I went! I learned my lesson.
 

hiker472

Member
Nov 6, 2008
653
3
18
Ontonagon County,Upper Michigan
The farthest I've had to pedal so far was about a block when the masterlink on the chain went.

I travel with tools and if I go on a long distance cruise, I always carry a gallon of gas with me. I've had my bike quit on me miles away from home, but so far I've been able to fix any problem I've had, right on the roadside.

I think if it ever decided to leave me far away, where I couldn't fix it, I'd leave it in the weeds and go for a long hike! I didn't put this bike together to peddle it!!


.wee.
 

deacon

minor bike philosopher
Jan 15, 2008
8,114
9
0
north carolina
I left a battery trailer on the side of the road sunday. It have about a hundred bucks worth of batteries and one wheel. I just couldn't think of a way to get it and me and the bike home at the same time. When I came back for it a couple of hours later it was still there. There trailer looked like a black milk crate from the street. You couldn't see the batteries or the one wheel so it stayed in place.

I still don't think I have the right trailer. I think I need a solid axle all the way through but nothing I have tried so far will hold up to the load without bending. I haven't tried a solid steel bar with holes and cotter pins yet That might be my next move. Or maybe a solid bat with a welded cap on the end.
 

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
11,837
252
63
up north now
To make a strong axle, use what you normally use, then attach a cable to one end, then again at the halfway point but with a block of hard wood with a groove cut to hold the cable off the axle an inch or so. The attach the other end to the opposite end of the axle. It will double the strength at a very small weight penalty. You can modify any presently used part without removing it from the trailer if you are crafty.

It makes an upside down suspension bridge sort of set up.
 

wdbtchr

Member
Jan 31, 2008
141
0
16
Juneau, Ak
To make a strong axle, use what you normally use, then attach a cable to one end, then again at the halfway point but with a block of hard wood with a groove cut to hold the cable off the axle an inch or so. The attach the other end to the opposite end of the axle. It will double the strength at a very small weight penalty. You can modify any presently used part without removing it from the trailer if you are crafty.

It makes an upside down suspension bridge sort of set up.
Called a truss. Never thought of using a cable though....pretty ingenious from a weight point of view.
 

Technocyclist

Motorized Bicycle Senior Technologist
Jul 7, 2008
462
0
0
Asia
I use my MB everyday going to and from work. One day, it was acting funny, but still continued to use it. It made a high pitch squealing sound when I start it. Then it started to loose power, then it just stopped. I think it was an air leak. Anyways, I had to pedal back home about 6 miles in hot weather mid day, so it was'nt easy. I had to stop at 7-11 and one gas station to rehydrate myself. This was going to work, so I had to turn back and called in sick for work. When I open the engine, it was found that the roller pins were stuck between the piston and the cylinder. They were just inseparable, and I tried everything. I had to threw it away, but left the bottom end/ crankcase for parts.

Second time was when I had a flat tire without a spare, had to left my MB behind. But when I repaired the flat tire the following day, the fuel valve broke off when I was repairing the tire, because the bike fell on it's side and all the fuel spilled. So I had to pedal about 3 miles and found a hardware shop where I bought several different size hoses to reduce the size to get the fuel from the tank to the carburetor. And it worked, then stopped at a gas station to refuel.

Third time, I forgot to refuel, but there was a gas station nearby, but I put too much oil since my calculation was off, so the engine won't run after a mile. I had to pedal about 2 miles with hills to get to the next gas station. Had to threw away some of the bad fuel and put some fuel again. Then it was Ok... Learned my lessons... the hard way... :(
 

Sharksfan

New Member
Nov 28, 2009
135
0
0
San Jose, CA.
I was about a mile from my house when I ran out of gas. I was in the break in period of my bike and a total noob. I not only ran out of gas but my clutch cable was not tight enough. Eventually it slipped enough and my rear wheel stopped turning about 3/4 of mile from home. I had to push/carry my bike the rest of the way home only to have an older gentleman pedal past me with an ear to ear grin. Oh the indignity.
 

Sharksfan

New Member
Nov 28, 2009
135
0
0
San Jose, CA.
To make a strong axle, use what you normally use, then attach a cable to one end, then again at the halfway point but with a block of hard wood with a groove cut to hold the cable off the axle an inch or so. The attach the other end to the opposite end of the axle. It will double the strength at a very small weight penalty. You can modify any presently used part without removing it from the trailer if you are crafty.

It makes an upside down suspension bridge sort of set up.

This is why I come to this site.
 

OCCstingray

New Member
May 3, 2009
142
0
0
Chester County, PA
The longest I had to pedal/push the bike home was just over 2 miles when my rear wheel bearings went out on me. Mainly up hill, so most of the time I was walking the bike along. I was lucky that it was on lightly traveled back roads.